Rose's Doctor
by NewtPevensie
Summary: Rose kissed the Doctor when she was possessed by Cassandra. Then Cassandra said something that the Doctor can't stop thinking about. What has Rose been looking at? Set directly after New Earth (2x01).


'What did you mean?'

Rose looked up from her phone. She'd taken to writing her adventures with the Doctor down, and when she didn't have her notebook to hand, she'd type a few notes into her phone so she wouldn't forget them. She was just writing about the sight of the Flesh healing each other, their touch doing more than any doctor (other than hers) could.

'Hmm?'

'Cassandra – she said you'd been looking. What did she mean?'

Rose flushed. Of course he'd remember that – would dwell on that more than their kiss. If there was one thing the Doctor couldn't stand, it was an unexplained cryptic remark.

He seemed to be very carefully not looking at her, instead staring at the screen on the TARDIS console, tinkering with a few buttons, gaze darting here and there with no real purpose. From what she'd noticed since his regeneration, this Doctor was full of energy, always moving, but usually from a restlessness that explained his need to travel, to discover new places. Not this… fidgeting.

And she had to admit: she had been looking. At the way he moved around the TARDIS like it was a dance. The way his hair stuck up at weird angles when he ran his hands through it when he was thinking. The way he lit up when she came downstairs in the morning. His goofy smile when she teased him. His proud look when she figured something out before him.

She went back to staring at her phone, so she missed the glances he kept throwing her way, trying to read her. This time, though, she wasn't actually doing anything – it just gave her something to focus on other than his reaction to what she said next.

'I was looking at you.' The words were barely out before she already regretted them – they were too blunt, too obvious, yet didn't convey everything she felt, everything she hoped the Doctor might feel. His previous incarnation had a poker face of steel, but she could still read what he felt like an open book. Every one of the new Doctor's emotions crossed his face, but even so, she wasn't sure if she was right.

'Oh,' he said. Then, '_Oh_.'

The Doctor was reeling. He knew that when he'd regenerated, much of his new self was because of Rose. She'd pulled him out of the darkness, out of the war that had shaped his Ninth self – well, 'pulled' might be a euphemism. She'd grabbed his hand and dragged him bodily towards a new beginning.

He had loved her from the moment she'd swung across the London sewers on a rope, saving him and that idiot boyfriend of hers. He'd travelled for almost a decade by himself when she had refused to join him in the TARDIS that first time. It was lonely, seeing the stars without a companion, and every night, he'd dreamed of a pair of fierce green eyes. When he returned, only a few seconds later for her, he was almost desperate to see her again, and that was all he could think of. Offering her time and space again. If she'd refused again… he didn't know what he would have done.

But she accepted, running into the TARDIS like it was her home. It was, now – more than London, she'd confided. He'd loved her all the more for that.

She'd become the Bad Wolf, destroying the Daleks, sending herself messages across time and space. For a few short minutes, she had been the most powerful being in the universe, but when it became too much, she had turned to him. Fierce, independent Rose, who would go through hell alone if it suited her, turned to him when she was scared.

Then he kissed her, taking the power of the Vortex away, knowing he was giving his life to do so. But he didn't care, because his Rose would be safe.

He had been reborn saving Rose Tyler. But when she saw him after his regeneration, she looked at him like he was a stranger. She had hated him, he knew it, and his hearts broke.

Yet not even a day later, they were mended – she had lit up like all the stars combined when he'd asked if she still wanted to come with him, and he knew all was not lost.

He couldn't believe how stupid he was. For a nine-hundred-year-old Time Lord, he was really, really slow.

His Rose. His smart, brave, beautiful Rose.

She loved him back.

Rose wasn't sure what to make of his long silence. This Doctor never shut up, always talking, joking, humming. But he hadn't said anything in almost two minutes, and she wanted to take back what she'd said. Anything to stop this awful, awful silence.

She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, she found him standing in front of her. She always forgot how damn long his legs were, how fast he could move when he wanted. His hand was held out to her. She took it warily, and he pulled her to her feet.

His eyes searched hers for any sign that she hadn't meant what she said. Then, because he couldn't think of any better words – he could talk for hours, but the one time it mattered, words failed him – he said, 'I've been looking at you, too.'

Rose could feel her heartbeat everywhere. It was hammering in her chest, pounding in her ears, beating in her fingers and toes. She knew the Doctor had a heightened sense of hearing, and could tell by the spark in his eyes that he could hear it too. So she did the only thing she could think of. She kissed him.

This time, he reacted in a way he hadn't when she – Cassandra? they? whatever – had kissed him. His hands found her waist, pulling her closer. One crept up her back, burying his hand in her hair as she twined her arms around his neck.

When they finally broke apart, he leaned his forehead against hers, hair mussed from where she had run her hands through it, breathing heavily.

Brushing his nose against hers, he murmured, 'My Rose.'

Still breathless, she whispered back, 'My Doctor.'

Rose's Doctor. He liked the sound of that.

…..

**Hey guys!**

**Hope you enjoyed this – it's been half-written for almost two months now and I only just finished it. If you did, leave a review – I love hearing what you thought! If you didn't, leave a review anyway – I always want to improve. **

**Love,**

**NewtPevensie xoxoxox**


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